


The Black Spider

by not_a_functioning_human_being



Series: Sanders Sides One Shots [6]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Anxceit could be interpreted, It's not explicit though, Logan is Virgil and Patton's kid, M/M, Unsympathetic Deceit | Janus Sanders, also TW: a character gets tortured, it's supposed to take place in ancient China, kind of, less unsympathetic and more evil/mad, mythology AU, platonic or unrequited romantic its up to interpretation, this was written before Janus' name reveal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-01
Updated: 2020-07-01
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:07:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25006657
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/not_a_functioning_human_being/pseuds/not_a_functioning_human_being
Summary: Patton and Virgil meet at a festival and fall in love at first sight. Unfortunately for them, a certain snake seems to have different plans.
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Morality | Patton Sanders
Series: Sanders Sides One Shots [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1809271
Kudos: 24





	The Black Spider

**Author's Note:**

> This is based off of the Chinese legend of the Immortal White Snake for a mythology challenge on this app called Amino. I changed the snake to a spider, merged the turtle and the green snake into one character, and changed a few minor details. It also is supposed to take place in ancient China but I didn't change any of the names.

"Once upon a time, many years ago there lived a snake and a spider who were immortalspirits with the power to shapeshift into humans and walk among them in the mortal realm..."

(~<^>~)

The day had been seemingly like any other in the Song Dynasty. It was the celebration of the Qingming Festival, a somber day when people from all across China would honor their dead ancestors and relatives.

One of these people was Patton. Patton stared at the grave of his dead mentor that had died a year prior as he laid down a few yellow orchids. His mentor had taken him off the streets as a child and had offered him help and guidance up until his death. Patton never knew his parents, never knew his family. His mentor was all he had known.

Patton sighed as he stood up to walk home to his small medicine shop to go and fetch his kite. After his mentor died the boy had inherited the shop and continued his mentor's craft, however business had been slow and the boy didn't know how much longer he'd be able to stay open. Just as he was halfway across the crumbling bridge that led to his home, the boy bumped into a tall man in silken purple robes.

"I'm so sorry sir I should have been paying attention to where I was going," Patton said, stumbling over his words before looking up and locking eyes with the man he bumped into. The man had been the most beautiful he had ever seen with deep dark eyes and swoopy black hair that fell just barely over them. Patton felt his face start to heat up before he reminded himself that this was a stranger and forced himself to look away.

"It's ok," The stranger said and Patton felt entranced by the other's deep voice. He stuck out his hand. "My name's Patton. It's nice to meet you" Patton smiled brightly as the other took it.

"I'm...Virgil," the stranger said, shaking his hand. There was the sound of someone clearing their throat behind him. Virgil looked back at his companion behind him, the one he had forgotten about when Patton bumped into him. "Oh!" he said, sheepishly turning back to the shorter boy. "and this is-"

"You can call me Deceit." the companion said with a lisp. "Now if you can excuse us, we were just on our way to the burial site. Come along Virgil." Deceit grabbed Virgil's arm as the boy waved goodbye to Patton.

Patton smiled and skipped the rest of the way home to grab his kite and fly it. No matter how hard he tried he just couldn't get the thought of the two companions out of his head. Especially Virgil. Despite not knowing a thing about either of them he felt the overwhelming urge to get to know Virgil more, to spend time with the boy. He had always been more on the emotional side, but this was something different. Something he had never quite felt before. Still, he hoped that he would meet the boy again someday.

~o~

Deceit knew something suspicious was happening a few days after the festival when Virgil had been nowhere to be seen. To be fair, the snake hadn't looked very hard, only slithering around to the spider's kingdom of webbing, knowing that he would never have left if at all. When he confronted his friend about it the spider seemed distracted. He had told him that he was just seeing a friend, which was an obvious lie. Deceit knew that he was Virgil's only friend, but he let it slide, sensing that his friend probably didn't want to talk about it. After all, he had never lied to him before.

As the days turned to months, and months to years, Deceit started seeing Virgil less and less. It was almost as if his friend was slipping through his fingers, no matter how hard he tried to grab hold of him. The thought of losing Virgil frightened the snake to his very core. Virgil had been the one to help him in his time of need. He had been the one who was by his side for as long as he could remember. His only other friend, the octopus, was frankly vile and he didn't want to resort to starting to spend all of his time with him. By the time the snake confronted his friend, it had already been too late.

The spider had been packing up his silken webbing when the snake slithered into his domain. "What are you doing?" the snake asked his eight-legged friend.

"I'm going to live in the mortal world," Virgil replied. "My boyfriend and I are going to be married tomorrow and I'm going to move in with him."

The snake was shocked. He didn't know about any boyfriend, much less a human one. Deceit felt his heart shatter, all of his plans of staying with his friend forever crumbled to pieces right before his very eyes. "No" he pleaded, hoping it was some sort of sick joke. "You can't leave. We promissssed to sssstay together. You made an oath when you ssssaved me from that hunter all thosssse yearssss ago. You promisssed you'd never leave me. And what boyfriend? You've never told me you had a boyfriend. Who would you posssssibly..." Deceit thought back to the last time they went to the mortal world together. And then it clicked. "Him," He said, his voice dripping with venom.

Virgil looked at the snake and nodded, a lovestruck smile gracing his face. The snake felt his heart sink further. "You're welcome to stay in the mortal world with me. Just because I'm leaving doesn't mean we have to separate. We can be neighbors or something." Virgil finished rolling his webbed kingdom into a tight ball and shapeshifted into his human form.

The snake only growled and shifted into his human form too, pushing Virgil's shoulders before turning around and walking away saying," Goodbye Virgil. Don't come crawling back to me when that mortal breaks your heart." He wiped away stray tears and turned back into his true form, slithering deep into the forest.

~o~

One month. It had taken the snake one month to devise his master plan. He disguised himself as a Buddist monk and walked to the mortal world, hoping to find the foolish boy who had stolen the heart of his best friend. When he had heard of a famous medicine shop, known far and wide for being able to cure anything and everything, he knew right away that it was the work of the spider.

Finding the apothecary wasn't hard at all. The snake disguised as a monk approached him in the market square saying, "Young man, I must warn you that there is a demon living in your house."

Patton gasped "There is?"

The snake nodded "But do not worry" he handed Patton a bottle of Realgar wine, believed to dispel any spirits that touched it. "Drink half of this and give half to your husband on the day of the DuanWu Festival and the demon will leave.

Patton nodded "Thank you sir." he accepted the wine and bowed. "Is there anything I can do to repay you?"

Deceit smirked and shook his head "Don't worry, knowing that this world will be terrorized by one less demon is payment enough."

Patton smiled and waved goodbye, running home to tell Virgil of what he had just been told.

~o~

On the day of the DuanWu Festival, Virgil paced back and forth. Ever since Patton told him about the monk and the demonhe knew that Deceit had been behind it. Unfortunately, no matter how hard he tried to convince him not to drink it, he could not convince Patton that the monk was evil and wanted to harm them. He contemplated telling Patton about who he truly was. What he truly was. But he knew that his husband was very arachnophobic, and he couldn't bear the thought of losing him. Not after all he had to go through to finally be with him.

"Hey, Virgie! Are you ready to drink the wine?"

Virgil stopped pacing and tried to best to look less nervous than he was. "Patton I don't think this is a good idea... Are you sure it's not poison or something? I have a really bad feeling about this."

Patton nods "I already drank my half. It tastes ok, nothing funny about it."

"Patton!" Virgil screeched, running over to him and hugging him "You could have died! Please be more careful I...I don't know what I'd do if I lost you."

Patton's eyes widened in surprise before he hugged back, a soft smile on his face. "Oh I'm sorry for worrying you kiddo, I promise to test drinks given to me by strange monks before I drink them in the future ok? But do you know what this means? The monk was right! There is a demon in this house. And the only way to get rid of it is to drink this wine."

Virgil sighed. He knew how stubborn his husband could get. His heart was just too big. He didn't realize how evil people could be. The spider nods and takes the wine bottle and puts it to his lips.

The moment the liquid entered his mouth, Virgil let out a scream as his body ripped and contorted into his true form: a giant spider.

Patton watched in horror at the sight in front of him and let out a blood-curdling scream before dying out of shock.

When Virgil saw Patton die his heart sunk in devastation. Just like that, the love of his life was dead. And /he/ was to blame. Virgil's pure grief and rage gave him the strength to shapeshift back into his human form as he ran out of the house. And that's when he remembered, The Tree of Immortality. A legendary tree that sat on the top of the Sacred Mount Emei. Virgil raised his hands to summon a storm cloud to come down from the sky and carry him to the top of the mountain. He didn't have much time before it would be too late.

At the top of the mountain, he saw the snake guarding the tree. Luckily for him, he knew the snake's every weakness and landed inside the tree where the snake couldn't see him. Virgil worked quickly, picking leaves, knowing that the snake would find him any minute. Just when he was about to leave, something caught the corner of his eye. In the heart of the tree laid an infant swaddled in blankets who looked exactly like his husband. As much as he wanted to leave, Virgil couldn't leave the child. Who knew what would happen to the infant if he just left him in the tree? He created a soft bed made of webbing and laid the child in it. He took a deep breath. He couldn't ride back on the cloud, knowing that the child would most certainly fall to his death, so he had to make a run for it. Summoning all of his courage, the spider shifted to his true form and ran.

It didn't take long for the snake to spot him and go in for the attack. The former friends battled down the mountain, neither one completely overpowering the other. Unfortunately, the spider, distracted from protecting the child, left his guard down for a split second when the baby almost fell off his back. That split second left the snake just enough time to bite the spider and inject it with its venom.

Virgil cried out in agony as the snake bit him. His pain-ridden shrieks woke the sleeping child on his back and the baby started to cry. The baby's cries were so powerful that a powerful shockwave blast through the surrounding area, throwing the snake hundreds of feet away from them. Virgil smiled, too grateful to be shocked or question it. He just ran, taking this as an opportunity to run back to their home in time to give Patton the life-saving herbs.

In the distance the snake smirked, knowing that the spider would be crawling back for the antidote soon. Not even the strongest of men could stay strong with his venom injected in their veins.

~o~

Virgil laid the herbs in Patton's open mouth and immediately the male sat up and hugged him. It was at that moment that Virgil broke. He cried and sobbed into Patton's arms, a million emotions going through his body. "I...I thought I lost you... I..." he tried to explain but the only thing that came out of his mouth was sobs.

Patton smiles, tears streaming down his face as he comforted the other. "Why didn't you tell me sooner Virge?" He asked, kissing his husband's forehead and holding him closer.

"I..I didn't know what you'd think. I didn't want you to be afraid of me. I...I didn't want you to leave me."

"Oh Virgil..." he wipes his tears. "I promise I will never leave you. Even if you are a ginormous spider. You're still the person I fell in love with all those years ago. No matter what form you take nothing will ever change that ok?"

Virgil nods before wincing in pain. The venom was finally flowing in his veins. It burned and pierced his insides like a thousand burning spears were just released in his body. He falls to the floor and contorts in agony, much to the horror of Patton.

"Virgil? What's wrong? What's going on?"

"And the venom finally sssssets in, I wassss wondering when he would ssstart feeling the ssssside effectsssss." A certain snake-like man walked into the house. A dark aura hung around him as he walked over to Virgil.

"Deceit" The spider hissed before screaming in pain again.

The snake chuckled "It's nice to see you too old friend~"

Patton narrowed his eyes "You! What did you do to him?"

Deceit laughed maliciously, an evil smirk "Whatever do you mean? I merely bit him. He's been injected with my venom and only has a month left to live. Oh! and did I mention, he will be in torturous and agonizing pain for months straight before he finally shrivels up and dies." Deceit laughs more.

Patton gasps, "You! You monster!" he looks back and Virgil, tears welling up in his eyes just thinking of all of the pain he was in at the moment.

"Oh boo hoo the mortal is crying for his demon boyfriend," Deceit rolls his eyes. "Of course, there is a way to reverse this poison... but it comes with a price."

Virgil's eyes widened "P...Patton... N... No!" He got out before the screaming in more agony as his pain got worse.

"What is it?" Patton asks, ignoring Virgil. He wanted to protect him, no matter the cost.

"I have the antidote in the spirit world. All you need to do is let me take him. I will nurse him back to health for eighteen years. At sundown today, eighteen years from now, you need to give me the Imperial Gemstones, the ones that have been passed down from generation to generation. I will be waiting at the bridge where we first met on that day. Fail to give them to me and Virgil will be mine in the spirit world for the rest of eternity. Understand?" Deceit took out his hand to shake.

Patton looked at Virgil, writing in agony, unable to even move his mouth to object. The male took Deceit's hand and shook it. "Deal."

A cool tingly feeling fell through Patton as the snake cackled. "You have twenty seconds to say goodbye before I take him."

Patton nodded and kneeled next to the boy. "Virgil I'm sorry but this is for your own good. I promise I'll come back for you"

Tears rolled down Virgil's eyes as he used the rest of his strength to point to the small baby rolled in a bed of webbing. And just like that, he was gone.

Patton looked into the bedding and saw the baby. He gingerly picked the child up and held him close, sobbing silent sobs into the night.

(~<^>~)

"And so Patton decided to raise the child as his husband wished, naming the child Logan. And that child is you! Does that answer the question about what happened to your father?" Patton asked his seven-year-old son, wiping a few tears from his eyes.

The youth thought for a minute before nodding, "Though I do have few questions. How are you going to get the gemstones to save him? Are you going to steal them? Isn't that illegal?And Why did you keep referring to yourself in the third person? Also, how do you know what happened when you were dead?"

Patton chuckled and rustled Logan's hair. "I think that's enough for tonight kiddo. Let's save those questions for another day. Sometimes I swear you are too smart for your own good. Goodnight Logie-Bear."

Logan rolled his eyes, "I told you, my name is Logan. Not Logie-Bear" he scrunches his nose. "Goodnight dad."

Patton smiles "Sweet dreams kiddo."

(~<^>~)

Eleven years later, Logan was on his way to the Capital City to take his imperial exams, an insanely difficult and competitive test, depending on how well you did. Logan had been studying for these exams for years and tomorrow he will finally take it. However, that wasn't the only reason he needed to go to the Capital. He needed to ask the emperor to borrow the Imperial Gemstones. It was only one week away from precisely eighteen years since his father had been taken. Logan knew that his father was busy keeping the shop running and had no means of getting the gems in time. Logan at least had a chance. He had to try.

Ever since his dad told him the story behind his father's mysterious disappearance, Logan had been imagining, dreaming of what it would be like meeting his father. He knew what his father looked like from the painting that hung above the fireplace and his dad often spoke of what he was like for the amount of time they had been together, but that didn't stop Logan from wondering. Plus, as much as he loved his dad, he was very biased and was still very much in love with his husband.

Logan settled into his room, looking up at the sky. Tomorrow starts his first day of examination. For the next three days, he will take the exam for three days straight without stopping for anything. He laid down and hoped that he would do well. He closed his eyes and slowly drifted off to sleep.

(~<^>~)

After his examinations, Logan felt disgusting and tired. The examination room has been unbearably hot and he was completely drenched in sweat. Still, he was confident with his answers and sure that he at least passed, if not excel. About an hour later, after he had washed, the emperor's advisor came and told him that the emperor had requested his presence. Thinking that this was his chance, Logan followed him, not even wondering why he was called in the first place.

"Logan Sanders," The emperor said, sitting on his throne, intimidating and stern. "Do you know why I needed to speak with you today?"

Logan bowed and shook his head "No your majesty. I do not." he looks back up at him, slightly fearful. This was the emperor, the most powerful man in all of China.

The emperor smiled "Do not look so fearful, I called you here to congratulate you. Not only did you score the highest in the country, but you also have the highest score in the history of the examination!"

Logan gasped and smiled "I did?"

"Yes." The emperor said. "You start next week. That will give you enough time to pack. And tell your family the good news. I'm sure they will be very proud."

"Wait," Logan said, remembering his mission. "Before I go I need to borrow the Imperial Gemstones. My father is imprisoned by a snake spirit and they're the only way to get him back."

The emperor thought for a moment before whispering something into the ear of his advisor and said. "The Imperial Gemstones have been in each ruling family for generations. I cannot simply give them away. However," He made a motion with his hand and the advisor bowed, leaving and returning with the most beautiful sword he's ever seen. It was encrusted with gold and jewels, the blade was sharp and precise enough to cut a strand of hair in half vertically. "Use this blade to kill the spirit. It is extremely powerful and dangerous. I trust that you will bring it back unscathed."

Logan nods and bows "Thank you, your majesty." And with that, Logan starts the journey back home.

(~<^>~)

When Logan returned to his hometown, the day had already arrived. The boy took a deep breath, the sword sheath to his side as he took a step onto the bridge.

"Oh ssssso the coward ssssends his ssson to do the deed inssstead?" A smirking figure appeared across from him, a sinister smirk adorning his lips. Next to him was a tall man in chains. He looked pale and worn.

When Logan's eyes landed on the man in chains, his breath hitched. He instantly knew who he was. He looked like he hadn't aged a bit based on the painting he saw. His eyes grew red with rage. "What did you do to him?" He growls, his hands moving to the sword at his hip.

"I just did what was necessary to keep him here with me." The snake said, a pompous smirk on his face. "Now that I have held up my end of the deal, where is my reward?"

"You're not getting nothing you sick f*ck!" Logan took out the sword and swung it at Deceit, who simply jumped backward, the blade narrowly missing his neck.

The snake chuckled, starting to get cocky, "Feisty one aren't you. Too bad you're also predict-" He was cut off by the second strike, this time going straight through his chest. He coughed up blood and then disappeared, the chains going with it. Logan wiped the blade on the grass and sheathed it. He looked at the man whom he assumed was his father, slowly walking up to him "Father? Is that really you?"

Though it's been years, Virgil could recognize his son's face anywhere. The man just simply nodded, tears welling up in his eyes. "Yes, Yes it's me!"

Logan smiled and turned and ran back to the house. "Dad! Dad! Come outside! Father's back!"

"Logan what do you-" Patton walked out the house and gasped. He ran over to Virgil and softly cups his cheek, almost as to make sure that he was real. Though the years apart had taken a toll on the mortal, he still had that twinkle in his eye that Virgil had fallen in love with long ago. "I...Is it really you?" Patton asked as Virgil pulled him into a soft and passionate kiss.

Logan smiled and watched from the sidelines until Patton broke the kiss and pulled him over. "This is our son. His name is Logan" he said, smiling wider than he had smiled in years.

"Well, it's nice to finally meet you, Logan," Virgil said Patton pulled the two into a bone-crushing group hug.

"It's nice to meet you too father." And with that, the family embraced, reunited at last.


End file.
